From World Music Rights’ $3.3bn valuation to the Miley Cyrus copyright lawsuit… it’s MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up

Welcome to Music Enterprise Worldwide’s weekly round-up – the place we be sure you caught the 5 largest tales to hit our headlines over the previous seven days. MBW’s round-up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximize their revenue and scale back their touring prices.

This was per week of many main personnel adjustments within the music business – so many, in actual fact, that we will barely match all of them into the round-up. So right here’s the super-condensed model:

First, Warner Music Group introduced that 300 Elektra Leisure CEO Kevin Liles shall be leaving the label and its mum or dad firm, WMG, on the finish of this month. A day later, WMG introduced that Warner Music Japan boss Kaz Kobayashi shall be stepping down as President and CEO later this yr.

Then got here the announcement that Randy Goodman shall be stepping down as Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Nashville (one among many management adjustments in Nashville of late). Lastly, we bought phrase of layoffs at WMG’s Atlantic Music Group, a part of a significant reshaping of the corporate below incoming CEO Elliot Grainge.

Additionally this week, MBW was the primary to report that Irving Azoff‘s US-headquartered PRO, World Music Rights (GMR), has struck a multi-billion greenback non-public fairness deal in a transaction that values GMR at USD $3.3 billion.

In the meantime, Common Music Group held its Capital Markets Day in London this week, the place Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge made the case for why streaming will proceed to be a significant supply of development for the music business within the years to return.

Elsewhere, Tempo Music sued Miley Cyrus, and seemingly half the music business, over her observe Flowers, which Tempo alleges ripped off Bruno Mars‘ Once I Was Your Man.

Plus, the North Carolina man charged in a $10 million streaming fraud case has pled not responsible. And at last, with phrase coming that Pink Floyd are in talks with Sony Music to promote their catalog for a sum believed to be within the area of GBP £400 million, MBW checked out what the long-lasting rock band is incomes lately.

Right here’s what occurred this week…

1) IRVING AZOFF’S GMR JUST STRUCK A $3.3 BILLION PRIVATE EQUITY DEAL, SAY MBW SOURCES

Look. We’ve damaged some fairly large information of late. Correct information. However this? Measurement-of-transaction-wise, this tops the lot.

MBW has confirmed by way of well-placed sources that Irving Azoff‘s US-headquartered PRO, World Music Rights (GMR), struck a multi-billion greenback deal on Wednesday (September 18) with a brand new non-public fairness accomplice. The transaction, we’re advised, valued GMR at USD $3.3 billion.

It’s understood that Azoff is sustaining a stake within the firm, however TPG – his long-time co-owner in GMR – has cashed out.

It’s additionally understood that the client is a personal fairness agency, Hellman & Friedman, which had $120 billion in property below administration on the shut of 2023…

2) READ SIR LUCIAN GRAINGE’S UNIVERSAL MUSIC CAPITAL MARKETS DAY OPENING ADDRESS IN FULL: ‘STREAMING WILL CONTINUE TO PROPEL MANY YEARS OF INDUSTRY GROWTH.’

Common Music Group hosted its 2024 Capital Markets Day in London on Tuesday (September 17) on the iconic Abbey Street Studios (which is owned by UMG).

The marathon four-hour occasion featured detailed displays by leaders from throughout the corporate’s world enterprise, highlighting UMG’s successes, present positioning, in addition to artistic and enterprise alternatives within the world music business.

The occasion was kicked off by UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge, who opened his speech with a short historical past of Abbey Street itself, which, as Grainge famous, has served as the situation of recordings from the Beatles to Fela Kuti, Amy Winehouse, and extra superstars…

3) PINK FLOYD’S RECORDINGS CATALOG COULD SOON SELL FOR $400M-$500M. BUT HOW MUCH DOES IT EARN TODAY?

On Friday (September 13) MBW despatched out a breaking information alert: we’d heard Pink Floyd had been in talks with Sony Music to promote their catalog for a sum believed to be within the area of GBP £400 million.

Just a few hours later the Monetary Occasions additional substantiated the story, suggesting, by way of its personal sources, that the deal’s worth is USD $500 million.

The potential acquisition is believed to embody the band’s recorded music catalog, plus neighboring rights and ‘title and likeness’ rights.

However how has Sony (or another potential purchaser) reached this reported half-billion-dollar price ticket…?

4) TEMPO MUSIC SUES MILEY CYRUS (AND HALF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY) FOR ALLEGEDLY COPYING BRUNO MARS’ ‘WHEN I WAS YOUR MAN’ ON MEGAHIT ‘FLOWERS’

Tempo Music has filed a lawsuit in opposition to Miley Cyrus for allegedly copying Bruno Mars’ Once I Was Your Man to create her 2023 hit Flowers.

Tempo, the music rights-acquiring fund launched by non-public fairness big Windfall in 2019, says it acquired a share of the copyright in Once I Was Your Man from Philip Lawrence, one of many track’s co-writers, in 2020.

The lawsuit not solely names as defendants Miley Cyrus and Sony Music Leisure, which owns the label on which Flowers was launched, but in addition quite a few music publishers allegedly concerned with Flowers, plus retailers and streaming companies that offered or hosted the track.

Flowers was the biggest-selling single globally in 2023, in response to IFPI. It spent a complete of eight weeks at primary on the Billboard Sizzling 100 and 57 weeks on the high of the Billboard Grownup Modern chart…

5) MUSICIAN ACCUSED OF $10M AI STREAMING FRAUD SCAM PLEADS NOT GUILTY (REPORT)

A musician indicted by the US authorities earlier this month over an alleged $10 million streaming fraud rip-off has pled not responsible.

As reported by Law360, Michael Smith, a 52-year-old resident of North Carolina, entered his plea in entrance of US District Choose John Koeltl in Manhattan on Thursday “throughout a short continuing”.

In accordance with court docket paperwork considered by MBW, Choose Koeltl issued an order on Thursday (September 18) setting Smith’s bail at $500,000.

Smith is alleged to have fraudulently generated over $10 million in royalties via the scheme between 2017 and 2024…

MBW’s Weekly Spherical-Up is supported by Centtrip, which helps over 500 of the world’s best-selling artists maximise their revenue and scale back their touring prices.Music Enterprise Worldwide